(Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to travel to Russia to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said, which would be sooner than previously expected.
Plans for a visit come as China has been offering to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with scepticism in the West given Beijing's diplomatic support for Russia.
Li, installed as premier on Saturday during the annual session of China's parliament, is tasked with reviving the world's second-largest economy after three years of COVID curbs.
But he faces challenges including weak confidence among consumers and private industry, sluggish demand for exports and worsening relations with the United States.
Making his public debut in a wide-ranging media conference, the former Communist Party secretary of Shanghai and close ally of President Xi Jinping also said China will take measures to boost jobs, especially in the services sector.
"Developing the economy is the fundamental solution for creating jobs," Li, 63, said during the televised session at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.
China's private sector has been rattled in recent years by a sweeping regulatory clampdown targeting some of its most vibrant industries, including the internet and private education.
At the opening of the annual parliamentary session, China set a GDP growth target of 5% percent, its lowest goal in nearly three decades, after the economy grew just 3% last year.
Achieving the target would not be easy, Li said, with China facing many difficulities this year.
'GREAT WALL OF STEEL'
Earlier on Monday, Xi said China needs security to develop and must modernise its military to make it a "Great Wall of Steel", calling for China to step up its ability to safeguard national security and manage public security.
Xi was speaking for the first time since the National People's Congress, China's parliament, unanimously voted to confirm him in a precedent-breaking third term as China's president.
"Security is the foundation for development, stability is the prerequisite for prosperity," Xi, 69, said at the closing of the annual parliament session.
The ruling Communist Party is expected to tighten party oversight over security matters, a move that comes after Xi replaced top security officials with his trusted allies.
Xi said China will distribute the fruits of development more equitably, in an effort towards "common prosperity", his signature policy of reducing wealth gap by ways such as asking private firms to pitch in.
China must achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, Xi said, a call that comes as the United States blocks China's access to chip making equipment and other cutting-edge technologies.
On Taiwan, the self-ruled island which China claims its own and a major producer of semiconductors, Xi said China must oppose pro-independence and secessionist activities and the interference of external forces.
China's relations with the United States sank to a low after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China launched unprecedented military drills around Taiwan and halted military dialogue with Washington.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Ryan Woo and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Kim Coghill and Lincoln Feast.)
North Korea fired two missiles from a submarine in the East Sea, as the Sea of Japan is also known, over the weekend, North Korean state media said on Monday.
State-controlled KCNA said two "strategic cruise missiles" were fired from the submarine 8.24 Yongung in an "underwater launching drill" on Sunday morning.
Hamburg lawmakers are asking whether a deadly attack on Jehovah's Witnesses could have been prevented, pointing to material in the public domain that hinted at religious extremism, plus an anonymous tip-off when he applied for a gun licence.
The Left Party called on the Hamburg Senate to clarify unanswered questions about the rampage, said Deniz Celik, interior policy spokesman for the Left Party in Hamburg's State Parliament, in a statement on Sunday.
The man, identified as Philipp F under German privacy laws, killed four men, two women, a 7-month old foetus and himself in Hamburg on Thursday.
While her foetus died, the mother, who was 28 weeks pregnant, survived but was severely injured. The adults killed were between 33 and 60 years old.
In total, eight people were injured, four of them severely, in the attack at a Jehovah's Witness place of worship, known as a Kingdom Hall. He had previously been a member of the religious community.
The attacker was a sports shooter and had legally purchased the shotgun he used in the attack.
"According to the latest findings, the question of whether the rampage could have been prevented must be asked anew. The crude theses on his homepage and in his book paint the picture of a confused, religious extremist," Celik said.
Since this information was publicly available at the time that the authorities received an anonymous tip-off, the weapons authority should have questioned whether it was suitable to allow Philipp F. to possess a weapon, Celik said.
Hamburg's police chief Ralf Martin Meyer told the press on Friday that the weapons authority had been alerted in January by an anonymous tip-off to Philipp F.'s "particular anger towards religious followers, especially Jehovah's Witnesses."
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday, adding that he hoped the exchange would take place soon.
"Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the U.S. we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the U.S. side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period," Amirabdollahian said.
By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Thousands of miles from the glitz of Sunday's Oscars, the first Irish language film to earn a nomination is sparking renewed interest in a native tongue spoken by so few it is considered endangered by the United Nations cultural agency.
Competing for best international feature, "An Cailín Ciúin" (The Quiet Girl) last year became the first Irish language film to gross more than 1 million euros ($1.06 million) at the UK and Irish box office. It has remained a fixture in cinemas across English-speaking Ireland.
Director Colm Bairéad says the success feels like it is boosting a language he grew up feeling self-conscious about because of its rarity. Raised in a bilingual household, the Dubliner's father would make a point of shouting across the street in Irish when calling his children in for dinner.
"It took me a while to accept that actually to be given another language and to be given our native language was a beautiful thing and a gift really," said Bairéad, who raises his two young sons in Irish with his wife and "An Cailín Ciúin" co-producer Cleona Ní Chrualaoi.
"When you have a language that is becoming part of the cultural landscape, that really helps. I think it's certainly leading to a slight shift in mindset and hopefully one that will be lasting."
While Irish is taught as a compulsory subject all the way through to the end of high school, just over 70,000 of Ireland's 5 million population speak it at least once a day according to the most recent census.
But Irish is thriving in the arts. It is now difficult to find an Irish language director such is the demand, said Cúán Mac Conghail, whose award winning films "Arracht" and "Róise & Frank" received funding through the same government-backed initiative as "An Cailín Ciúin".
Mac Conghai's production company, which creates everything from Irish language children's programmes to dating shows, has more than doubled its number of staff in the past decade. He is noticing less hang-ups about the language in general.
A clip of Oscar-nominated Irish actor Paul Mescal dusting off his own rusty Irish on the red carpet at the British Academy Film Awards went viral last month and was viewed over 1 million times.
Even some comedy clubs are giving Irish-only stand-up a go.
"I think it's a way of seeing the language isn't just something academic or something historical in a museum. That's what I love about it," said Louisa Ni Eideain, a tech sector worker and fluent Irish speaker who was one of four performers at a trendy central Dublin pub.
While two friends dragged along to other shows have signed up for language classes, Ni Eideain's son has no local secondary school to continue his all-Irish primary level education, highlighting the challenges in encouraging wider use.
"We can't just as a country cash in on things like the Oscars. There are still some fundamental policy issues that need to be addressed if we're really serious about making sure the language is vibrant for the next generation," Ni Eideain said.
($1 = 0.9396 euros)
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says his aim is to balance out branches of government, wields a parliamentary majority along with his religious-nationalist coalition allies.
As the reforms head toward ratification, the protests have escalated. The shekel has slipped. Some military reservists have threatened not to heed call-up orders. President Isaac Herzog has appealed for the overhaul to be postponed and dialogue held.
"It's not a judicial reform. It's a revolution that (is) making Israel go to full dictatorship and I want Israel to stay a democracy for my kids," said Tamir Guytsabri, 58, among tens of thousands of demonstrators who gathered in central Tel Aviv.
The protests were mostly peaceful, though Reuters witnessed some injuries and arrests among protesters when police moved in against attempts to block traffic.
National police chief, Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai, made a rare televised announcement in which he backed off from plans to reassign the head of Tel Aviv's police, which some feared presaged plans to crack down harder on protests.
The now-deferred reassignment was part of a scheduled rotation, Shabtai said, adding that police would continue safeguarding demonstrations kept within legal boundaries and "will not yield to any political pressure on the matter".
Netanyahu, who returned to office for a sixth term in late December, says the demonstrations are aimed at toppling him. He is on trial in three corruption cases and denies all wrongdoing.
"I am here to protest against the reform in the law, and to protest our prime minister, who we call 'Crime Minister'," said demonstrator Miri Lahat, 63.
(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by John Stonestreet)
LONDON (Reuters) - The return of the British Museum's Parthenon Marbles to Greece is possible even if the two sides cannot come to an agreement over who owns the sculptures, a campaign group working to resolve the long-standing dispute said on Sunday.
Greece has asked for others to imitate the Vatican Museums after they agreed this month to return three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon. London and Athens are in talks over the Parthenon Sculptures held by the British Museum.
The 20-year-old man suspected of keeping 11 people hostage in a pharmacy for five hours on Friday in Germany's south-western city of Karlsruhe has been taken into custody, authorities said on Saturday
According to the public prosecutor's office and the police, a judge issued an arrest warrant on charges of hostage-taking.
The 20-year-old suspect, who is known to the police, held the 11 hostages for almost five hours until special forces stormed the pharmacy and overpowered him.
The perpetrator was armed but he acted alone, police said earlier.
A police spokesperson identified the weapon as a shotgun. Initial investigations had suggested that the man might have had a female accomplice, but this was never confirmed.
"The 20-year-old acted alone," the spokesman said.
Of the initial 11 hostages, eight had been able to hide in the building, he said. Three people were held by the suspect.
No one was injured, the police said.
Police spokesman Dennis Kohl said several emergency calls had come in from the pharmacy as the crime was happening. Police arrived on the scene only two minutes later.
The German suspect was known to police, as he had a history of violence and property-related crimes, Kohl said.
For tactical reasons, the police have not yet given any information on the hostage-taker's demands, such as a ransom.
The Karlsruhe Criminal Investigation Department has set up a 10-member team to continue the investigation.
The pharmacy could not be reached by phone the day after the crime. However, according to a dpa reporter, customers were able to pick up medication orders through a side door. The main entrance was boarded up. Photos showed shattered glass on the floor of the shop.
The hostages had received immediate offers of help after the rescue, with a support worker at the scene.
The mayor of Karlsruhe, Frank Mentrup, thanked the emergency services and said he hoped that the hostages would be able to come to terms with what they had experienced as quickly as possible following their release.
"Karlsruhe is relieved that this dangerous situation was ended without bloodshed," he said in a statement on Friday evening.
He thanked the emergency forces of the police, fire brigade and rescue services.
"I am deeply saddened that such an act took place in our midst," Mentrup said.
